The United States has condemned a July 27 attack on a village in Kaduna State that reportedly killed at least 30 people, including children, as a US lawmaker urged President Bola Tinubu to do more to address violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region.

In a statement, the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs said Washington condemns the attack and extends condolences to the families of the victims, adding that it will continue urging the Nigerian government to address violence against Christians in the region. US Representative Riley Moore, reacting to the incident, described the news as terrible, saying that while progress has been made under the joint US-Nigeria security agreement in the North East, more action is needed in the Middle Belt, including efforts to secure the release of a seminarian, Kelvin Ochai, kidnapped in Benue State.

The attack is the latest in a series of violent incidents affecting communities in Kaduna and other Middle Belt states, a region that has witnessed recurring clashes linked to banditry, kidnapping and communal conflict. The US and Nigeria activated a security cooperation framework last year focused on intelligence sharing and counterterrorism support, though rights groups and US officials have continued to raise concerns about attacks on farming communities and places of worship in the Middle Belt.